Baqir Brigade

Baqir Brigade
Liwa al-Baqir Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Logo of the Baqir Brigade; the militia also uses the regular Syrian government flag
Active	2012– present
Ideology	Anti-Zionism
Allegiance	Syria
Leaders	Khalid al-Hassan
Size	3,000 (self-claim, 2016), 2,000 (Syrian opposition claim, 2016)
Part of	Local Defence Forces
Allies	Iran Hezbollah Syrian Democratic Forces (since 2018) Various Iraqi Shia militias
Opponents	ISIL Tahrir al-Sham  Turkey Free Syrian Army and allies
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012-2016) Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015) Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa Syrian Desert campaign (May–July 2017) Central Syria campaign (2017) Battle of Deir ez-Zor (September–November 2017) Battle of Khasham Turkish military operation in Afrin

Syrian Civil War

The Baqir Brigade (Liwa al-Baqir, sometimes also Liwa al-Imam al-Baqir), named after Shia Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, is a Syrian loyalist militia originating in the Aleppo Governorate that fights in the Syrian Civil War. One of the most prominent and largest pro-government militias from the Aleppo area and part of the "Local Defence Forces" network, the Baqir Brigade mostly consists of tribesmen from the al-Baggara tribe that has traditionally supported the rule of the al-Assad family despite being mostly Sunni Muslim. Though the militia's fighters thus come from a largely Sunni background, many of them appear to have converted to or are at least strongly influenced by Shia Islam. Indeed, the Baqir Brigade has been noted for its strong connections to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and various Iraqi Shia militias, and is thus generally considered to be a Shia or "Shi'ified" fighting force.

There exist conflicting accounts on when and how the Baqir Brigade was founded. The unit itself and its supporters claim that it was set up in 2012, just after the start of the Battle of Aleppo. Its founders were the brothers Khalid al-Hassan (nom de guerre: "al-Hajj Khalid" or "al-Hajj Baqir") and Abu al-Abbas (nom de guerre: "al-Hajj Hamza") who had fought as volunteers with Hezbollah during the 2006 Lebanon War and started the Baqir Brigade after their father and older brother had been killed by rebels. Their unit initially had only 13 members, but allegedly soon managed to garner hundreds of recruits due to the charisma and military talents of the two brothers. On the other side, the pro-opposition site alSouria.net argued that the Baqir Brigade was founded as part of the Local Defence Forces in 2015. With its fighters trained by Iraqi Shia militants and put under the protection of the Berri family (which is well known for its support of the al-Assad family), alSouria.net claimed that the militia was an attempt to create more native Shia pro-government units. Around this time, the Baqir Brigade reportedly operated under the leadership of the Iraqi Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which also equipped its members. Regional expert Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi found evidence for the Baqir Brigade's existence as far back as 2014. He argues that some kind of militia led by Khalid and Abu al-Abbas indeed originated in 2012, but that this earlier formation was reorganized or consolidated into the present-day Baqir Brigade only as part of the Local Defence Forces with strong Iranian and Hezbollah support around 2014.